Risby Park Nursing Home

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

Well-led – this means we looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality, person-centred care; supported learning and innovation; and promoted an open, fair culture.

At our last assessment we rated this key question outstanding. At this assessment the rating has changed to good. This meant the service was consistently managed and well-led. Leaders and the culture they created promoted high-quality, person-centred care.

This service scored 79 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The provider had a shared vision, strategy and culture. This was based on transparency, equity, equality and human rights, diversity and inclusion, engagement, and understanding challenges and the needs of people and their communities.

The management team worked with staff to promote a positive and inclusive culture at the service. Systems for staff feedback, provision of wellbeing and open communication contributed to positive staff practices.

The management team understood there were areas where improvement required embedding and a showed robust proactive approach. The management team were open and responsive to ensuring improvement where any care quality had fallen below the providers expected standards.

Feedback we received from people, their relatives and staff supported this. People and their relatives were asked for opinions and feedback through meetings and surveys. Complaints were responded to in a timely manner and learning was evident with actions to improve where needed.

The provider had inclusive leaders at all levels who understood the context in which they delivered care, treatment and support and embodied the culture and values of their workforce and organisation. Leaders had the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively. They did so with integrity, openness and honesty.

The management team and staff we spoke with displayed a passion for the service and for what they were aspiring to achieve. The provision of good quality care with positive outcomes for people was evident throughout our assessment of this service.

Staff told us they were fully supported at work, were encouraged to question practices and suggest new ideas or initiatives to help continually improve their practice.

Staff told us the communication systems and team working within the service were robust and effective. Staff told us, “I feel supported, we work well as a team. There have been some staff and managers coming and going but it is and remains a good place to work.”

One relative told us, “The new manager, there could not be a better appointment than her. They have got the style of the ex-manager and is on the shop floor and got the strength and personality to keep staff motivated.”

Another relative told us, “I had an email telling us of the new manager, I have met [them] and seen [them] around. I would recommend this home. The best thing is they all have a caring side, and treat people as individuals, they are not just a pay cheque. It comes from the top down through everything they do.”

The provider fostered a positive culture where people felt they could speak up and their voice would be heard.

Policies and processes were in place to provide staff with guidance as to how to speak up. Opportunities for staff to share concerns were provided through regular staff supervisions and meetings. Staff were made aware of the whistle-blowing policy during their induction and training in how to respond to safeguarding concerns. All staff we spoke with told us they felt able to whistle-blow on poor practice should they have witnessed any.

We found the culture at Risby Park was open and transparent, led by a management team who actively encouraged feedback. This feedback was used effectively to improve care quality across the service.

There was a system for logging all concerns and complaints. This evidenced clear audit trails of actions taken in response in line with the providers policy on handling complaints.

People told us they were comfortable to voice any concerns they might have with staff and management. One person said, “There is not one of the staff or the manager I would not feel at ease to go to if I was worried about anything.”

One relative told us, “There are meetings which include residents and relatives. I haven’t been for a while, but I get an email inviting me, I’ve not seen the minutes from these meetings. There are no restrictions on visits, they offer you drinks and food and make you very welcome. They also provide very good activities; they all seem to have fun. There is always a lovely atmosphere.”

The provider valued diversity in their workforce. There was an evident inclusive and fair culture which had improved equality and equity for people who worked for them. Staff team meetings showed staff were provided with equal opportunities, supported to build a cohesive team and afforded time to discuss their work. Meeting minutes showed best practices were discussed, any issues relating to risk, health and safety and building good partnerships with professionals and other agencies.

Staff told us they felt they were listened to, especially since the appointment of the new manager; Staff told us the manager was quick to take positive action where needed to make improvements.

The provider had clear responsibilities, roles, systems of accountability and good governance. They used these to manage and deliver good quality, sustainable care, treatment and support. They acted on the best information about risk, performance and outcomes, and shared this securely with others when appropriate.

During our assessment a new manager was in the process of receiving a handover from the current manager who was due to leave the week of our 1st visit to the service. The provider had not had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission [CQC] as required since October 2024. The new manager had worked for the provider organisation for a significant period of time in another role. They told us they were in the process of submitting their application to register as a manager with CQC.

There was an overarching governance system to ensure that good quality care and support was provided, as part of their approach to continuous improvement. This was monitored by the provider who also undertook regular quality assurance visits to the service.
Effective systems were in place for continuous learning and improvement. Incidents and learning from incidents were discussed in staff and management meetings, where staff considered new approaches regarding the delivery of person-centred care, with an evident goal of improving people’s lives and experience of living in the service.

The provider understood their duty to collaborate and work in partnership, so services worked seamlessly for people. They shared information and learning with partners and collaborated for improvement.

Effective processes were in place and embedded in the service to ensure partnership working with people, relatives, health professionals were maintained and to improve people's experiences, health, and wellbeing.

The service focused on continuous learning, innovation and improvement across the organisation and local system. They encouraged creative ways of delivering equality of experience, outcome and quality of life for people.

The service documented learning in response to incidents and accidents and took direct action to support people and keep them safe. Staff told us they received feedback about incidents in a constructive, timely manner.

Themes from any concerns and complaints had been analysed by the management team. Actions taken included taking outcomes to team meetings to discuss with staff for them to understand complaints and lessons learned showing where the service could and had improved.

Feedback from our inspection in relation to the management of medicines and record keeping were responded to by the management team immediately and with openness and action to make the improvements necessary.